Approximately one of every three hundred children may be afflicted with a misshapen head or cranial abnormality. Various courses of treatments have been developed in the past. Where cranial sutures have closed, surgery may be resorted to correct abnormalities of the cranium. If treatment is undertaken before the patient's cranial sutures have closed, i.e., at an early age, preferably when the patient is less than six months old, the less invasive and more desirable methodology of cranial remodeling for correcting these problems may be utilized. The use of a cranial remodeling orthosis has proven to be highly effective and successful for treatment of a variety of cranial abnormalities.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,229 granted Mar. 10, 1992 for "CRANIAL REMODELING ORTHOSIS", and to which the present Applicant is a coinventor, different approaches to cranial remodeling are described and an improved cranial remodeling orthosis band for correcting plagiocephaly is disclosed.
A particular form of abnormality can be corrected with a somewhat different orthosis design and treatment methodology and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,312 granted May 3, 1994 for "CRANIAL REMODELING ORTHOSIS" and to which the present Applicant is also a coinventor. This abnormality is known as brachycephalic cranial head shape abnormality. The brachycephalic head shape is characterized by occipital flattening of the cranium. The resultant biparietal breadth and/or height abnormalities are usually accompanied by bi-temporal and frontal breadth abnormalities. The supernormal brachycephalic head shape is one in which the maximum cranial breadth is disproportionately large in relation to the maximum cranial length.
An orthosis band of the type described in the '312 patent corrects brachycephaly by constraining growth across the breadth and height of the cranium while encouraging an increase in the maximum cranial length. The orthosis band is configured to extend across the top of a head with side or depending regions closely confining the temporal bone regions and the mastoid process regions of the cranium. The orthosis is self-suspending, i.e., it does not require a chin strap of other means to cause it to remain in position. A reinforcing band is integrally formed into the top of the band to provide ear to ear rigidity.
The incidence of cranial abnormalities in infants is increasing. In particular, it is believed that approximately one in two hundred infants now exhibits cranial abnormalities. The increase may be a result of the methodology which has been recommended for reducing the likelihood of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). That methodology recommends having infants sleep on their backs at all times. The result of having the infant sleep in the same position causes a flattening of the back of the head. This abnormality may occur by itself or in combination with other abnormalities. It is therefore desirable to provide a means for correcting this specific abnormality and for providing a means for preventing flattening of the rear of the head while permitting continued use of the SIDS preventive methodology of bedding infants on their backs.